Before You Text a Friend or Google It... Try This
Feeling overwhelmed or out of answers? Before texting a friend or asking Google, try something different. This small shift changed my perspective—and my peace. What if you texted God first?
I don’t know about you, but I’m a verbal processor. When I’m overwhelmed, stressed, confused, or looking for answers, I tend to do one of two things:
vent to a friend via video chat or text, or
ask Google.
But there’s something we say and teach at our church a lot:
Prayer is our first response, not our last resort.
When Conviction Becomes Practice
For years, I felt somewhat convicted but shrugged it off as a hope, not a day-to-day practice.
But in the past few months, something changed, and the conviction hit deeper. It finally clicked that I needed to act—make this a real practice, not just wishful thinking or a pulpit quote.
As per usual, these moments tend to come out of desperation, where I’m at the end of myself, have tapped my friends dry, and the internet is sounding like a broken record. That’s when I realize I know the answers—but there’s a disconnect between knowing and consistently living it out in a way that brings real change.
I’ve come to appreciate this desperation, though, because it makes me lean on God.
The Parenting Strategy I Didn’t Expect
So recently, I’ve been joking that I’m trying a new parenting technique.
It’s called “The Holy Spirit.”
You read that right. Suddenly what I always “knew” clicked a little deeper in my soul: The Holy Spirit knows better how I should parent my kids than Google, my friends, my family, even me (who the internet reminds me frequently am the expert on my child—maybe I’m the only one, but this parent feels at a loss quite often).
I may not know what’s in my kid’s head or how they’ll respond—but the Holy Spirit does.
I may not know how my kid will turn out, but the Holy Spirit does.
I may love my kid to the moon and back, but the Holy Spirit loved him to death before the world even existed.
Bottom line: God loves my kid even more than I do.
He’s the expert on my kids, even more than I am. And when Jesus physically left Earth, he sent us his Spirit as our Helper.
And 95% of the time, I’m not tapping into these amazing parenting resources.
A Simple Habit That Changed Everything
So that’s the understanding of it that clicked. But the how—that’s where I get stuck. Putting feet on belief.
I didn’t overthink it. When my gut response over a concern was to whip out the phone to text or Google, I took to the phone, opened a note, and texted God.
Yup.
“To God: Idk how… I don’t think we can… I DON’T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO… I guess I’m at the end of my rope…”
And in my embarrassingly long verbal vomit thrown up in a prayer to God, the Holy Spirit-Helper connected the dots. It went like this:
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you, there’s more of God and his rule.” (Matthew 5:3)
Other translation: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they will inherit the earth,”
which reminded me of “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who finds a treasure in a field and sells everything he has to keep it.”
The rest of the verses that flooded in aren’t the point. And this particular rant wasn’t even specifically about parenting.
The point is that I took it to God before Google or empathy from friends, and not only did Scripture come to mind, but the solutions found in Scripture settled into my Spirit in a peaceful way that Google AI never does.
It settled quietly and confidently—exactly what I needed.
And things started to shift. It led to the right next action, decision, discussion—but more importantly, to the right next spirit-posture.
Try God First
It’s easier to scroll for a quick solution than to sit and wait for a whisper.
But God is seeking us, finding us, waiting on us. We think we’re waiting on him, but he’s waiting on us. We just have to slow down and meet him here.
Texting God feels silly—like a Jesus juke from middle school youth group. But it was a simple physical tweak that shifted my heart in a way that took a baby step toward God instead of a rabbit trail that just left me feeling more inadequate.
So what about you? What would happen if you texted God once instead of turning to vent to someone else or spiraling down an internet black hole of opinions and robot answers?
I’m not saying there’s not a time or a place. I’m not saying not to Google it or talk to a like-minded friend after your convo with God.
But what if you tried God first?
I want to hear how he shows up for you, too.
